Vivid Ecological Appearances

     The vast ocean is home to infinite organisms and has supplied mankind for generations. Do you want to know how the ancients perceived the ocean and its abundant life forms?

     This installation was inspired by Rich and Varied Products of the Sea, a compendium of fascinating sea creatures by 18th century Qing Dynasty painter Nie Huang, demonstrating the integration of science and art at the time.

     In the Animated Art – Interactive Painting Projections installations, visitors can see animated versions of animals they draw interspersed among creatures from Rich and Varied Products of the Sea and Fish Oddities. Projections onto large cloth screens create an immersive experience.

• Development team: City University of Hong Kong

     Viewers explore two virtual landscapes created in the style of Castiglione by moving a TV screen along rails mounted on a wall. By exploring these panoramas, brilliantly imagined by two Hong Kong artists and populated with plants, birds and animals in the style of Castiglione, viewers can discover the original paintings. The Linear Navigator technology was invented by Professor Jeffery Shaw from the School of Creative Media at City University of Hong Kong.

     Today's automobiles, airplanes, ships, and submarines are modeled on natural organisms. Perhaps the most famous example of people imitating and even reproducing biological structures found in the animal kingdom were sketches Leonardo da Vinci made of mechanical birds in the 15th century.Remarkable progress has been made with this type of biomimicry. Time and again, technological development has shown that an important factor in making breakthroughs is following principles observed in the animal kingdom.

     The exhibition includes multi-joint robotic fish developed at National Taipei University of Technology. Researchers used high-resolution images to analyze and copy minute movements of carp swimming. Manufacture that included 3D printing of the fish body and molding of a soft silicone tail led to a highly realistic appearance. By observing the fish, people can gain a greater understanding of nature.

     "The green of lotus leaves stretch to the heavens; Lotus blossoms shine with their red in the sunshine."

     At the peak of summer, the pulse of life swells to a crescendo. The world is in high spirits, and plants and animals everywhere are on the move. In an elegant pond, the summer charms are abundant: lotus flowers sway in the breeze, a raft of ducks forages for food, and butterflies dance upon the air. In the Path through Time and Space (Summer Lotus: Wind-activated Interactive Installation), the painting entitled "Breeze on the Imperial Lotus Pond" is projected onto the wall and floor in an L-shape. Description of the image on the wall: shifting between night and day modes, natural sounds change with the environment, the sounds of cicadas singing and other insects chirping can be heard, and the lotus leaves and flowers sway with the wind, opening and closing. Description of the image on the floor: as visitors make their way across the image on the floor, duckweed gathers and then dissipates and the water appears to ripple where they walk. When visitors step on a lotus petal, butterflies which had been resting on the petal slowly flutter up the image on the wall, giving visitors a feeling for the vitality of summer, while the pond full of lotuses present a scene teeming with life.